The Book of the Maidservant, Rebecca Barnhouse
Based on the first English language autobiography, the story of a pilgrimage from Lynn (now King’s Lynn) to Rome. The autobiography was the story of a merchant’s daughter, this book is the imagined story of her maidservant. I was really impressed at how the author kept the book in the voice of a person from that era (1400s) and let the reader gather information from context rather than taking a modern view and explaining everything and everyone. I also liked that it was a realistic adventure: something people at the time did and was still quite dangerous. I liked it. Four stars.
Brushing Your Teeth Can Be Fun: and Lots of Other Good Ideas for How to Grow Up Healthy, Strong, and Smart, Munro Leaf (Originally Health Can Be Fun)
How to Behave and Why, Munro Leaf
How to Speak Politely and Why, Munro Leaf (Originally Grammar Can Be Fun)
Manners Can Be Fun, Munro Leaf
Reprints of books by Leaf from the 30s and 40s on topics perhaps of more interest to the adults around the children than the children themselves. There is a lot of appeal to authority, which it seems like the kids may already have heard from mom and dad. I had read about Grammar Can Be Fun at Curious Pages (see link above) and was fascinated, so I was pleased to be able to read the whole book. As much as you might think that these topics are unchanging, the contents seem quite dated (do current childrearing books emphasize leaving a window open while sleeping for adequate ventilation? I also haven’t heard general encouragement to be quiet around babies and the elderly.). Also interesting is the emphasis in the behavior book on how to act if you want to be liked by friends and family, rather than on being a unique little snowflake who’s allowed to scream in the library as a part of their self-expression. Seems almost… communist? Yet Leaf wrote many books on the dangers of communism, sadly not yet reprinted! Three stars for history.
Incorruptible. Volume 1, [created and written by] Mark Waid ; [artist], Jean Diaz
I usually follow the work of particular writers or writer/artists in my graphic novel reading, and now I must apologize. The premise and story in this book are really great (and apparently it’s a complimentary storyline to Irredeemable), but the art is so bad I had to stop looking at anything but the word balloons. Kinda harshed my vibe. Stars for story but not for art.
Scott Pilgrim’s Finest Hour (vol. 6), Bryan Lee O’Malley
After seeing the film (highly recommended) it was nice to read the last volume in the series (released only a few weeks before the movie). The ending is different (Anti-Spoilers!), so no need to avoid either film or book, and the book has so much more depth because of the expressive art and more overall available space to explore the relationship issues and character development. Plus, the author himself has commented on how much his ability improved over the course of the series, so you can see him really bloom over time. It is too rare to find a really satisfying series conclusion, but this, my friends, is it. Five stars.
Reviews elsewhere: 8/6, 8/13, 8/20, 8/27 [a note on that last one: My editor picks the links in the reviews, not me. I would have picked a Tex and Edna Boil sketch for SCTV, or maybe Mrs. Falbo’s Tiny Town. For Rocky & Bullwinkle I would pick a Fractured Fairy Tale, and something with a song for Cap’n B. Also, when will the Canadian eps of SCTV be released? They must be in worse music-clearance hell than the NBC episodes.]